Blackberry cupcakes

Blackberries work so well in baking, as do most berries.  They have a strong flavour and I love it when they break down during cooking and ooze their colourful juice into the sponge batter.

I was drawn to this recipe for two reasons: firstly, the unusual (to me) sponge recipe and secondly, for the buttercream using more cream than butter.  It sounded light and whippy and delicious...and oh how it was!

These are big cupcakes so don’t expect a dainty bite; personally, that doesn’t present a problem! The yoghurt added a tang to the sponge which I really liked; it worked so well with the blackberries.

The buttercream, if I can call it that when it contains so little butter, is a revelation – so light and soft.  It melts in your mouth like ice cream leaving behind an aromatic hint of vanilla creaminess.  When I made it and tasted it I was disappointed as it was very sweet, however when eaten with the cake it is perfect.

The other odd thing about this buttercream is that it’s a man pleaser...every single man who tried it said (without knowing the other men had said it) how much they preferred it to the more usual buttercream.  I guess men really are a different species!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
225g self raising flour
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
100ml plain yoghurt
175g unsalted butter – melted
150g blackberries

For the buttercream:
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100ml double cream, plus extra if needed
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
350g icing sugar
12 blackberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Line a 12 hole cupcake pan with paper cases.

Mix together the flour and caster sugar in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and yoghurt (I used the bowl on my scales to cut down on washing up!)

Pour the eggs and yoghurt, along with the melted butter, into the dry mix and stir together.  Don’t over work it.

Stir in the blackberries – it’s best if some break up and ooze their juice.

Spoon into the paper cases.  Don’t panic that the cases look full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (they will need this long – they are big cakes), or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Mine took almost 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin.

When cool enough to safely handle, de-tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Now make the buttercream: beat the butter until soft and whippy.

Beat in the cream and vanilla.

Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth.

If the icing is too thick, add more cream – a tablespoon at a time.

Spoon into a piping bag (if it’s a bit soft refrigerate for 5 minutes or so) and pipe generous swirls on top of each cake.

Place a blackberry on the top of each cake.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.